| Trump administration loses bid to lift bar on funds for border wall Posted: 03 Jul 2019 06:00 PM PDT  The ruling was another setback in President Donald Trump's effort to construct a border wall, one of his top promises in the 2016 presidential campaign. "Congress did not appropriate money to build the border barriers defendants seek to build here," a three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said in a 2-1 ruling. "Congress presumably decided such construction at this time was not in the public interest.
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| Manslaughter charges for woman who lost baby after being shot in stomach dismissed by prosecutors following outcry Posted: 03 Jul 2019 11:56 PM PDT  A woman indicted for manslaughter after losing her unborn baby when she was shot has had the charge dropped.Marshae Jones, of Birmingham, Alabama, lost the foetus after being blasted in the stomach following a fight in December.The 28-year-old was arrested last week after a grand jury decided she had caused the death by initiating the brawl while knowing she was five months pregnant.But, following a global outcry, a Jefferson County district attorney announced the charges were being discontinued on Wednesday.Lynneice Washington said: "After reviewing the facts of this case and the applicable state law, I have determined that it is not in the best interest of justice to pursue prosecution of Ms Jones. There are no winners, only losers, in this sad ordeal."No further explanation was offered for the sudden change or any rationale given for how grand jurors returned the indictment in the first place.Ms Jones' lawyers said she was pleased with the decision and urged her supporters to now direct their energy to "ensuring that what happened to Marshae won't ever happen again".They had previously called the charge "flawed and twisted", saying it "defies the most basic logic and analysis".The case came shortly after Alabama passed America's most hard-line anti-abortion legislation.The new laws, passed earlier this year, make performing an abortion at any stage of pregnancy a crime punishable by life in prison for the provider. It makes no exception for pregnancies resulting from rape or incest.Officials denied Jones' indictment had anything to do with the legislation but her case sparked outrage across the US and wider world among pro-choice campaigners and advocates for women's rights.Many pointed out the charge was another clear example of the state attempting to punish women for so-called crimes related to their pregnancies.Legal scholars said the arrest raised questions about what other scenarios – such as driving a car or swimming in a pool – could constitute putting a foetus in danger.Jeffery Robinson, deputy legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union, welcomed the charges being dropped, saying the decision "represents precisely what we want to see in these critical moments: a prosecutor who is not afraid to use prosecutorial discretion and power to refuse to prosecute when the law and justice demands that charges should be dropped."Lynn Paltrow, executive director of National Advocates for Pregnant Women, said she was pleased to see the case dismissed but noted it would be a mistake to see it as an outlier.She said: "We hope there are no more cases like this in the future, but our experience in 40 years of cases suggests that we will see many more such misuses of the law in the name of foetal personhood in the future."Ms Jones' attacker, 23-year-old Ebony Jemison, had manslaughter charges against her dismissed earlier this year. She herself had said she felt the indictment of her rival was unjust.
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| Biden urges caution about policies of 'way left' Democrats, Ocasio-Cortez Posted: 05 Jul 2019 03:18 PM PDT ![Biden urges caution about policies of 'way left' Democrats, Ocasio-Cortez]( "Biden urges caution about policies of 'way left' Democrats, Ocasio-Cortez") The former vice president has continued to tout his more moderate proposals as some other 2020 Democrats are supporting more left-leaning ideas.
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| The Latest: Police cite protesters blocking July 4th parade Posted: 05 Jul 2019 12:02 AM PDT  Several dozen members of a group protesting treatment of migrants and asylum seekers have been cited after briefly interrupting a Fourth of July parade in Philadelphia. Police say about 300 people had marched to the Independence Mall area Thursday, within sight of Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell, after demonstrating outside the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency headquarters.
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| Buttigieg hits back at ‘black people’ question: ‘Racism is not going to help’ Posted: 04 Jul 2019 02:09 PM PDT  "Sir, I think racism is not going to help us get out of this drama," Buttigieg said.
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| California earthquake: Powerful 6.8 magnitude quake hits near city of Ridgecrest Posted: 04 Jul 2019 11:01 AM PDT  A 6.8 magnitude earthquake has struck southern California, one of the most powerful to hit the region in nearly 20 years.The US Geological Survey said the quake, initially reported as a magnitude 6.6, was very shallow – only 8.7 km (5.4 miles) – which would have amplified its effect.The tremor, which was felt as far as Los Angeles, was quickly followed by several smaller aftershocks in the area.The earthquake lead to some fires in Ridgecrest, a town near the epicentre of the quake.British tourists Naomi Woodford and Alex Nelson, who were in Los Angeles, said they were advised not to use the city's metro."I was having breakfast in downtown LA then noticed the windows of a building shaking and everyone else started pointing," Ms Woodford said. "We heard others saying their bedroom was shaking and they were scared."Seismologist Dr Lucy Jones said the tremor was the strongest earthquake in southern California since 1999.A local hotel manager described how floors "rippled" and chandeliers swung. A tsunami is not expected, according to the National Tsunami Warning Centre.
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| Pakistan’s Leader Imran Khan Has $684,000 in Assets. And Four Goats Posted: 04 Jul 2019 05:03 AM PDT  (Bloomberg) -- Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has assets worth 108 million rupees ($684,000), operates four foreign currency accounts and owns four goats.The cricketer turned politician, who takes a chopper to work, doesn't own a car and the first lady doesn't possess any jewelry, The Express Tribune reported, citing assets disclosed by the Election Commission of Pakistan.The South Asian nation leader's wealth dwarfs many of the 340 politicians that are part of the lower house of parliament. Pakistan Peoples Party Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari owns assets worth 1.5 billion rupees, more than double his father and former president Asif Ali Zardari, who owns arms worth 16.6 million rupees and horses worth 10 million."These number may give an idea but are not the actual worth," said Samiullah Tariq, director research at Karachi-based Arif Habib Ltd. "They can sometimes be misleading since assets are valued at the time they were bought, not at current value."Khan has been leading a cost-cutting drive from the front. He has moved out of the official residence and sold unnecessary government assets including luxury cars.To contact the reporter on this story: Faseeh Mangi in Karachi at fmangi@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Arijit Ghosh at aghosh@bloomberg.net, Ravil ShirodkarFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| UPDATE 6-Australian student released from North Korea says he's "very good" Posted: 03 Jul 2019 09:39 PM PDT ![UPDATE 6-Australian student released from North Korea says he's "very good"]( "UPDATE 6-Australian student released from North Korea says he's \"very good\"") SYDNEY/TOKYO, July 4 (Reuters) - An Australian student who was detained in North Korea was freed and safely left the country on Thursday, arriving in Tokyo via Beijing later the same day after Swedish officials helped broker his release. Alek Sigley, 29, who was studying in the North Korean capital, Pyongyang, had been missing since June 25.
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| Explained: F-22 Raptors Are Headed to the 'Salute to America' Celebration Posted: 04 Jul 2019 03:53 AM PDT  The aircraft was first introduced in December of 2005; the F-22 Raptor fighter jet delivered some of the first strikes in the U.S.-led attacks on the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, when aerial bombing began in 2014, service officials told Warrior.The Air Force and Lockheed Martin have now "validated" several new weapons on the F-22 Raptor to equip the stealth fighter with more long-range precision attack technology, a wider targeting envelope or "field of regard" and new networking technology enabling improved, real-time "collaborative targeting" between aircraft.(This first appeared several months ago and is being reposted due to breaking events.)The two new weapons, which have been under testing and development for several years now, are advanced variants of existing weapons - the AIM-9X air-to-air missile and the AIM 120-D. Upgraded variants of each are slated to be operational by as soon as next year.The new AIM-9X will shoot farther and reach a much larger targeting envelope for pilots. Working with a variety of helmets and display systems, Lockheed developers have added "off-boresight" targeting ability enabling pilots to attack enemies from a wide range of new angles."It is a much more agile missile with an improved seeker and a better field of regard. You can shoot over your shoulder. If enemies get behind me in a close-in fight, I have the right targeting on the plane to shoot them," Ken Merchant, Vice President, F-22, Lockheed, told Warrior Maven in an interview.
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| This July 4th Had Everything: Tanks, Trump—and Scandal Posted: 04 Jul 2019 02:43 AM PDT  Photo Illustration by Sarah Rogers/The Daily Beast/Photos GettyAfter two years of trying, President Donald Trump finally got the military pageantry he has so desperately wanted.The annual Fourth of July celebration in Washington, DC—a parade, concert, and fireworks—featured tanks, fighter planes and Trump himself. It was called "A Salute to America," but it looked more like a salute to Trump, who made a rare address for a president on Independence Day from the Lincoln Memorial.A rain-soaked crowd around the Lincoln Memorial chanted "USA USA!" and Air Force One flew low over Washington as Trump strode up to the podium. While water ran down the front of the bulletproof glass enveloping the podium, he opened his remarks with, "Hello, America, Hello." "Today we come together as one nation," he told the crowd, which was divided by a fence that kept VIP guests separated from ordinary spectators.Trump stuck to the script, delivering his speech with his signature stilted teleprompter cadence, taking listeners through high points of American history and greatness and acknowledging special guests like Apollo 11 flight director Gene Kranz and civil rights hero Clarence Henderson. "We are going to be back on the Moon very soon, and someday soon, we will plant the American flag on Mars," Trump promised Kranz. Carlos Barria/ReutersThe speech also included a lengthy tribute to the Armed Forces and timed flyovers by various aircraft. At one point, Trump—who received five deferments from Vietnam—encouraged young people who were listening to join the military "and make a great statement in life. And you should do it."Sizable crowds turned out Thursday morning for the annual parade on Constitution Ave. Trump supporters made up a large part of the crowd, with MAGA hats, pro-Trump T-shirts and Trump campaign flags prominently displayed. On the parade route, one person held up a large sign that "THANK YOU PRESIDENT TRUMP." Vendors sold a wide array of pro-Trump merchandise, from Trump 2020 shirts to buttons declaring that "Hillary Clinton sucks."Fences surrounding the Lincoln Memorial and across the Reflecting Pool kept non-ticket-holders away from the memorial. The much-discussed tanks were also behind the fences, meaning the vast majority of attendees couldn't see them.With Trump's speech roughly two hours out, it began to pour rain. Dozens of pro-Trump attendees lined up in a vain attempt to get into the restricted, fenced-off area closer to the stage while others power-walked to cover, temporarily ditching the Mall.Spectators endured rain in the mid-afternoon.Will SommerOver at the Trump International Hotel just down Pennsylvania Ave. from the White House, numerous Trump supporters and celebrants populated the lobby, ordering drinks and tiny burgers with small American flags poking out of them, stuffing more money into the Trump family coffers. The lobby restaurant and bar area, for years a top destination and watering hole for Trumpworld luminaries and administration figures, was filled with enthusiastic Trump fans, including one man wearing an American flag outfit replete with a TRUMP cape. Hotel regulars mingled in the lobby on Thursday afternoon, with Eric Bolling, a close Trump friend and a BlazeTV host, setting up shop to broadcast his July 4 show next to the bar.QAnon fans also showed up at the hotel sporting T-shirts of John F. Kennedy Jr., who they believe faked his death 20 years ago and will reemerge today as part of a wide-ranging deep-state conspiracy to prosecute Democrats for child-sex slavery.One woman said she thought there was a chance Kennedy would announce his presence at the rally. "It would be wonderful if he did," said the woman, who declined to give her name.Vincent Fusca, a Trump supporter who QAnon supporters believe is JFK Jr. in disguise, told The Daily Beast that he'll be at today's rally.The day also drew Trump detractors. Maryland resident David Beigel protested by bringing three small "Baby Trump" balloons to the Trump hotel and posing for photos with fellow Trump critics. Beigel said he decided to come to the parade when he heard Trump was turning it into a "Trump festival.""I just figured I needed to," Beigel said, as he stood in 90-degree heat. "The only good thing about this hotel is the shade."But D.C.'s subtropical climate wasn't the only complicating factor.There were multiple anti-Trump protests hroughout the day, including one by Code Pink that featured the famed Baby Trump balloon (though it could not be filled with helium because of Federal Aviation Administration restrictions) and counter-protests by pro-Trump collectives looking to support the president. The Parks Service granted permits for a flag-burning by the White House and a rally for Michael Flynn, the president's former national security advisor who pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI during the Mueller investigation (and awaits sentencing.)While Trump got his tanks trained in from Georgia, they were not able to roll through the streets of D.C. due to concerns that the weight of them would ravage city streets. And, according to Mother Jones, the Pentagon sent out written guidance to troops involved in Trump's show to say things like, "I am proud of my job and my vehicle/tank. I am glad to share my experience with the American People," if asked during the course of the event. The actual "Salute to America" could likely end up the subject of a congressional inquiry—not only because of the still undisclosed cost of the entire event, which included military plane flyovers and the president's precious tanks, but also because of the White House's decision to create a VIP section for high-profile supporters and donors at the Lincoln Memorial. VIP tickets were provided to the Republican National Committee—but not the Democratic National Committee—that were then offered to high-dollar GOP donors. Trump's re-election campaign also got some tickets to hand out as they saw fit."This is what authoritarians do: @realDonaldTrump is taking $2.5 million away from our National Park Service to glorify himself with a spectacle of military tanks rolling through Washington. And top GOP donors are getting VIP seats, all at taxpayer expense," tweeted Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), currently vying to be the 2020 Democratic nominee to replace Trump.The "Salute to America" isn't an official Trump campaign event, but neither is it a project of the National Park Service, which generally handles July 4 festivities on the Mall. Rather, according to the Department of the Interior, the event was "hosted by the President of the United States." That put it on par with other ceremonial White House events such as its annual Christmas party and Easter Egg roll—events where the White House typically carves out attendance for prominent supporters and political donors.The Washington Post reported that $2.5 million was taken from the National Parks recreation and entrance fees fund to pay for Trump's fete, but it's unclear at this point how high the cost could go. Trump's quest for a military parade began in France. Fresh from attending the Bastille Day festivities in Paris in 2017 with French President Emmanuel Macron, Trump huddled with some aides in the White House's private dining room and remarked how America couldn't let another country upstage the United States, according to a person who heard Trump make these comments. Trump then proceeded to launch into an extended riff on how the French parade had throngs of marching soldiers, big tanks, and a spectacular fireworks show.As the president went on, and on, and on about how magnificent the whole celebration was, he came to the firmly held conclusion that America could and should do it bigger and better, the source recounted.Last year, the Department of Defense announced that a military parade the president had demanded, originally scheduled to coincide with Veterans Day, would have to be postponed. Internally, there was sharp disagreement among senior administration officials over whether the parade should have been planned in the first place. Then-Secretary of Defense James Mattis was vehemently opposed, a source close to Mattis said.Having failed to make Veterans Day all about him, the president settled for Independence Day.Even the much-hyped fireworks show carried a tinge of politics. Two companies, Phantom Fireworks and Fireworks by Grucci, donated about $750,000 worth of pyrotechnics for the ceremony, promising the Mall's largest-ever July 4 fireworks show. The donation earned the companies' chief executives personal shoutouts on the president's personal Twitter account on Tuesday.Behind the scenes, both men are also pressing for the Trump administration to abandon tariffs on imports from China that they say would deal a blow to the U.S. fireworks industry. The tariffs were part of a $300 billion package of such measures that the president forestalled last week, granting fireworks manufacturers—as well as scores of other industries—a temporary reprieve.The U.S. Trade Representative initially announced the tariffs after discussions about the fireworks donation commenced, and all parties involved say there's no connection between the donation and the industry's lobby campaign. The fireworks lobby nonetheless expressed some concern that the appearance of such a connection, and media reporting on it, had created the impression of some sort of attempted quid pro quo."I'm a little concerned that the optics may not play very positively for the fireworks industry," Julie Heckman, the executive director of the American Pyrotechnics Association, said in an interview on Wednesday. "The donation was genuine," not motivated by any political considerations, Heckman said. "We're all for more fireworks, the bigger the better, and wanting to support the president with the D.C. celebration," Heckman added. "We certainly wouldn't want any negative optics. I believe that APA's testimony and formal comments [to USTR] will grant us an exclusion based on the merits."Those fireworks donations nonetheless boosted a ceremony that prominently featured Trump himself right as his 2020 reelection campaign kicks into gear. And it didn't just stand to benefit him politically; Trump's D.C. hotel also capitalized on the tourism boom surrounding the Independence Day festivities.As of Wednesday morning, the Trump International Hotel, just blocks from the White House, was offering rooms for a minimum three-night stay beginning on Wednesday for $1,151 or more per night. Hotel guests could also enjoy a special "Red, White, and Bliss massage treatment" at the on-site "Spa by Ivanka Trump". Fifty minutes will run you $165.However, Trump's gathering did not completely scuttle traditions in the nation's capital.On the opposite end of the Mall, the traditional, non-partisan celebration—"A Capitol Fourth," broadcast on PBS—took place after the Trump show wrapped. Promoters of "A Capitol Fourth" are going out of their way to note that their event had nothing to do with Trump's tank-laden party. A tweet pinned to the top of the official Twitter account for the event read that the John Stamos-hosted celebration "remains unaffiliated with any other July 4th events around the country and in other locations in Washington, D.C." Additional reporting by Jackie Kucinich.Read more at The Daily Beast.Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast hereGet our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.
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| Prominent 2020 Democrat nominee Kamala Harris' fundraising for 2nd quarter far behind top rivals' Posted: 05 Jul 2019 01:57 PM PDT  Thanks to a breakout performance in the recent Democratic presidential nomination debates, Sen. Kamala Harris of California has been able to raise nearly $12 million in the last three months. However, this amount pales in comparison to three of her rivals for the nomination, Sen. Bernie Sanders, former Vice President Joe Biden, and South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg.
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| He was abducted and forced into a deadly scheme to extort marijuana from his father Posted: 05 Jul 2019 06:32 AM PDT  Young entrepreneur Curtis Jenkins III from Camden was kidnapped and killed after being lured to Fairview address, authorities say.
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| The Latest: Cline's daughter and her friend 'lit up room' Posted: 05 Jul 2019 02:26 PM PDT  A former teacher of two young women who died in a helicopter crash off the Bahamas described them as inseparable friends and caring and humble students. Steven Anderson is a social studies teacher at The Benjamin School, a prep school with campuses in south Florida. Cline was the daughter of West Virginia coal magnate Chris Cline, who was also one of the seven U.S. citizens who died when the Augusta AW139 helicopter they were aboard crashed Thursday en route from the Bahamas to Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
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| View Photos of the Lexus LC Convertible Posted: 05 Jul 2019 03:41 AM PDT |
| Border patrol agents mock migrants with racist messages in Facebook group Posted: 05 Jul 2019 11:14 AM PDT  A second secret Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Facebook group has been exposed for its derogatory depiction of migrants in a series of vulgar and inappropriate posts. The group, called "Real CBP Nation", was discovered after two individuals familiar with the page sent screenshots to journalists at CNN. The page contained posts mocking the separation of migrant families, racist and racially divisive comments about Asian and African American people, and memes mocking congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.The group had around 1,000 members. In one post, a meme posted of a border patrol agent apprehending someone was captioned: "Felt kinda cute, might separate some families today idk."The immigration authority said: "CBP received screenshots of social media posts allegedly by CBP employees and has shared those posts with the office of professional responsibility, the office charged with investigating potential employee misconduct". It added it planned to launch an investigation. The spokesperson continued: "If the investigation verifies that employees posted content in violation of CBP's code of conduct, the findings will inform management decisions regarding appropriate disciplinary action." The news of this CBP Facebook group comes after another page, called "I'm 10-15", was exposed by ProPublica for mocking dead migrants, posting sexist and sexually suggestive imagery of Ms Ocasio-Cortez, and using offensive and dehumanising language concerning asylum seekers.These posts included accusations that the picture of drowned migrants Óscar Alberto Martínez Ramírez and his daughter Valeria, who died while trying to cross the Rio Grande in June, was faked by "dems and liberal parties" because the migrants were "so clean". The picture of the father and daughter was taken by a Mexican journalist, Julia Le Duc.One member posted doctored images of Donald Trump pushing Ms Ocasio-Cortez's head towards his genitals, captioned: "That's right b*tches. The masses have spoken and today democracy won."The "I'm 10-15" group had over 9,000 members, and several posters had been reported to CBP higher-ups. The two groups are now undergoing internal investigations.
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| At least 70 arrested in Hong Kong after storming of parliament Posted: 05 Jul 2019 01:56 AM PDT  Police arrested at least 70 people as a crackdown begins against the scores of protesters who turned to the streets over the last month to voice frustrations against city leaders. Charges against those individuals - some as young as 14 - included possession of weapons, unlawful assembly, assaulting police, criminal damage, forcible entry and disorderly conduct in a public place. Thirteen arrests have been linked to demonstrations on July 1, the most aggressive demonstrations to date, that ended with a few hundred people storming the city's parliament. Only one of those individuals arrested, however, is alleged to be directly linked to the seizure of the government building. The arrests kick off a crackdown that could last for years. Activists like Joshua Wong, a key figure in the 2014 Umbrella Movement that rocked Hong Kong, have been in and out of prison. Mr Wong, 22, was just freed in a surprise release this June. China has urged Hong Kong authorities to prosecute the "criminals" involved in the protests. But unlike past protests in the city, the recent demonstrations have lacked a central organising force - instead several groups have rallied the masses. That means there aren't specific individuals police can go after and send a symbolic message to quell unrest. Joshua Wong's release from prison has seen him return to the fray Beijing says unrest in Hong Kong as being "hyped by Western forces," issuing yet another direct warning on Thursday to the UK – specifically naming Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt and referring to Boris Johnson, both in the race to become the next prime minister – to stop commenting on its former colony. "In the past few days, Mr Hunt has been mistakenly commenting on Hong Kong, and now it seems that a new person has taken over to continue lecturing on the same issues," said Geng Shuang, a spokesperson for China's foreign ministry. "If some actors in the UK obstinately make the same mistake over and over again, we will have to discuss." "Hunt inflamed Hong Kong's situation, which only ruins his and the UK's image. He sabotaged China-UK relations for his personal political interests," warned an editorial in the Global Times, a Chinese Communist Party mouthpiece. "Hunt is selfish and has poor logic. The UK's diplomacy toward China will pay for his behaviour." Some lawmakers worry that the arrests will lead to more violent demonstrations. "I am terribly worried that a massive kind of round-up of protesters could trigger very negative sentiment on the part of the young, " said Claudia Mo, a pro-democratic member of the Legislative Council. "Things could get worse." Clean-up efforts continued Thursday – rubbish bins were hauled in to clear the debris and city workers brushed over slogans painted by protesters. A small group went on a hunger strike, while others offered free hugs to boost morale after at least three people committed suicide in protest over the last two weeks.
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| UPDATE 1-Ethiopian crash families criticise Boeing over donation plan Posted: 04 Jul 2019 10:46 AM PDT ![UPDATE 1-Ethiopian crash families criticise Boeing over donation plan]( "UPDATE 1-Ethiopian crash families criticise Boeing over donation plan") The families of victims of an Ethiopian air disaster on Thursday criticised Boeing's plan to donate $100 million to unspecified charities and communities affected by two crashes, saying it was too vague and that families should have been consulted first. Some of the families said Wednesday's announcement from the U.S. planemaker also triggered an avalanche of unwelcome phone calls from relatives and acquaintances who believed they had just received compensation. The crash of the Boeing 737 MAX jet came only five months after the same model of plane plunged into the sea off Indonesia.
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| Anchorage roasts as heat records break across Alaska Posted: 05 Jul 2019 11:36 AM PDT  The latest heat wave to bake a part of the globe is underway in Alaska where several locations, including Anchorage, broke single-day records for high temperatures. According to the National Weather Service (NWS), Anchorage had its first-ever recorded temperature of at least 90 degrees on Thursday, breaking the previous record of 85 degrees, which was set 50 years ago. > The 4thofjuly2019 was one for the books. Several ALL-TIME high temperature records were set at official observation sites throughout Southern Alaska. But that's not all...there were more daily temperature records set too! AKwx ItsHotInAlaska pic.twitter.com/GxcdUaD9ld> > -- NWS Anchorage (@NWSAnchorage) July 5, 2019Other locations setting new all-time single-day record high temperatures include Kenai (89 degrees) and King Salmon (89 degrees). More records are expected to be set on Friday. SEE ALSO: Scorching France just smashed its temperature recordIn a report, the NWS put it bluntly: "The 4th of July 2019 was a day truly for the record books in the climate department." In fact, the recorded high in Anchorage was hotter than several cities in the lower 48.> High temps, July 4, 2019: > > Los Angeles - 74°F > Flagstaff, AZ - 79°F > Reno, NV - 81°F > Hot Springs, AR - 87°F > Anchorage, Alaska - 90°F https://t.co/QmJyR3omnk> > -- Eric Holthaus (@EricHolthaus) July 5, 2019Meanwhile, the New York Times reports sea surface temperatures have reached upwards of 10 degrees above normal, a level that Rick Thoman, a climate specialist at the Alaska Center for Climate Assessment and Policy, tells the Times is "astronomical."It's warmer in some parts of Alaska than in usually hotter places in the lower 48 states.Image: Lance King / Getty ImagesA particular set of weather patterns have allowed a dome of heat to settle over southern parts of Alaska. Brian Brettschneider, a climate researcher at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, explained the phenomenon to NBC News: Complicating matters is that a dry June has led to severe drought in some parts of the state, which has raised fire danger levels, too. > A quick look at some statistics for the month of June. The story is that it was wetter than normal for most locations; warmer than normal everywhere. SEAK pic.twitter.com/G0pqoqza0e> > -- NWS Juneau (@NWSJuneau) July 1, 2019While average July high temps for Anchorage usually hover in the mid-60s, temperatures in the Anchorage area are currently forecast to stay well into the 80s through the next week.> Not only is Alaska anomalously hot at the moment, but also Longyearbyen in Svalbard may reach close to the record-breaking temperatures next days. https://t.co/3mj9XWVC5d> > -- Mika Rantanen (@mikarantane) July 5, 2019Alaska's heat wave follows record-breaking temperatures in Europe at the end of June, with climate scientists blaming climate change for the alarming trend. WATCH: Parents and teachers want climate change taught in schools
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| Fed Should ‘Take Back’ Rate Hike, White House’s Kudlow Says Posted: 05 Jul 2019 07:26 AM PDT ![Fed Should 'Take Back' Rate Hike, White House's Kudlow Says]( "Fed Should 'Take Back' Rate Hike, White House's Kudlow Says") (Bloomberg) -- The Federal Reserve should reduce interest rates even though the economy is strong and the latest payrolls report was positive, said Larry Kudlow, President Donald Trump's top economic adviser."They should take back the interest rate hike," Kudlow said in an interview on Bloomberg Television Friday. "With a weak global economy, taking out an insurance policy is not a bad thing."U.S. payrolls increased by 224,000 in June, topping all economist estimates. That led traders to scale back their more aggressive bets on Fed rate cuts this month, though a reduction is still expected by the market.The Fed raised interest rates four times last year, with the last increase in December drawing especially heavy criticism from the Trump administration. Fed officials have shifted their outlook since then, and in June they opened the door to a rate cut."I'm not encroaching on Fed independence," said Kudlow. "I'm reading the market tea leaves."To contact the reporter on this story: Ryan Haar in New York at rhaar3@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Margaret Collins at mcollins45@bloomberg.net, Ben HollandFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Iran's Most Powerful Weapon Against America: Meet the IRGC Posted: 04 Jul 2019 01:48 AM PDT  No other branch of the Iranian military can claim the notoriety that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has earned for itself over the last several decades.Earlier this year, the White House took the unprecedented step of designating the IRGC as an organization that "actively participates in, finances, and promotes terrorism as a tool of statecraft." It was an IRGC fast attack craft that almost sparked open military conflict between the U.S. and Iran in June by staging an unprovoked attack against two oil tankers in the Gulf of Oman.The IRGC continues to comprise a substantial part of the Iranian armed forces, but their influence—both within Iran and across the Middle-East region—extends far beyond raw combat capabilities. To understand the full extent of IRGC's current role within the Iranian military, we must go back to back to the birth of the Iranian Islamic Republic.The IRGC was founded in the aftermath of the 1979 Iranian revolution. Skeptical of the intentions of the inherited government and wary of a counter-coup, Supreme Leader Ruhollah Khomeini founded the IRGC as a counterweight to the existing Iranian security apparatus.
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| Joe Biden says that he wasn't prepared for Kamala Harris' criticism on segregation and busing Posted: 05 Jul 2019 08:09 AM PDT  Biden on CNN said he "wasn't prepared" for Harris' criticism during the debate. He added that his past positions were taken "out of context."
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| War crimes court-martial ends with Navy SEAL walking free Posted: 03 Jul 2019 10:20 PM PDT  One of the U.S. military's most significant war crimes cases ended with a decorated Navy SEAL walking out of court a free man after acknowledging moral and ethical mistakes, including posing in photographs with the body of an Islamic State captive he was cleared of killing. Special Operations Chief Edward Gallagher will spend no time in jail for the only charge he was convicted of — posing with a human casualty — despite being given the maximum sentence of four months' confinement for the offense Wednesday by a military jury. Gallagher turned to his wife, shook his head and pretended to unpin his "anchors" — the insignia of a chief — and fling them across the courtroom.
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| The 2020 Mercedes-AMG CLA45 Has 382 HP and a Rear-Drive Drift Mode Posted: 04 Jul 2019 04:00 AM PDT  The all-new CLA45 packs the world's most powerful series-production four-cylinder.
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| Restored Fastback: 1971 Ford Mustang Mach 1 Posted: 05 Jul 2019 09:43 AM PDT  This recently restored Mustang has a bunch of factory options on its build sheet.When it comes to Ford's celebrated Mustang sports car, the Mach 1 is one of the most renowned performance packages, especially the first-generation model. This 1971 Ford Mustang Mach 1 underwent a restoration a few years ago, and it's an impressive specimen of the facelifted first-generation Mach 1.Street Dreams in Fredericksburg, Texas offers this Mach 1 for sale. This example is clean throughout and features a variety of factory options, such as factory air-conditioning, power steering, and power brakes, making it a somewhat comfortable muscle car. The seller also includes build sheets, receipts for work performed on the car, and also a Marti Report, which is a vehicle order information report from Ford Motor Company's database.Both the interior and exterior of this Mustang utilize a black and white color scheme. While it is easy to dirty up a white vehicle (and especially one with white seats), this example is extremely tidy. Personally, I enjoy the wood accents in the cabin, which nicely complement the black carpeting and white seats.All Mach 1 Mustangs were available with non-functional hood scoops as a no-cost option or a standard feature, but this Mach 1 features the Ram Air hood option. The Ram Air hood utilizes a vacuum controlled door and a fiberglass plenum to direct cool air through an air filter housing and into the carburetor.This Mustang features the M-code 351 cu.-in. "Cleveland" V8 engine, which uses a 4-barrel carburetor. From the factory, this 5.8-liter V8 made about 285 horsepower and 370 lb.-ft. of torque. The engine pairs to an automatic transmission to drive the rear wheels. Both the advertisement and the 5-digit odometer display 42,144 miles.Street Dreams is asking $39,500 for this Mach 1, though they will consider reasonable offers, and also can provide worldwide delivery. Do you think that's a fair price for this performance-oriented Mustang? Read More... True M-Code: 1971 Ford Mustang Mach 1 Grabber Lime Mach 1 Is Seventies Perfection 1969 Ford Mustang Mach 1 Super Cobra Jet Has Modern Performance This 1973 Ford Mustang Mach 1 Is A Numbers Matching Beauty
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| Jussie Smollett news: 'Empire' actor's attorneys argue for Chicago lawsuit to be moved to federal court Posted: 04 Jul 2019 04:36 AM PDT  Jussie Smollett wants the lawsuit that the city of Chicago filed against him moved from state court to federal court.
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| Putin bestows top state honors on sailors killed in submarine fire Posted: 05 Jul 2019 03:51 AM PDT  Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday bestowed top state honors on 14 sailors killed in a fire on a secret nuclear submarine in recognition of what the Russian military has called their outstanding bravery. The sailors were killed on Monday when a fire broke out while their deep-water research submarine was carrying out a survey of the sea floor near the Arctic, the Russian defense ministry has said. Putin, in a decree published on the Kremlin's website on Friday, gave four of the dead submariners Russia's highest state award - the title of Hero of Russia.
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| Americans Are Less Proud to Be Americans This Year Posted: 04 Jul 2019 05:00 AM PDT  (Bloomberg) -- As the nation celebrates Independence Day, pride in America has become a casualty of today's polarized political environment.The share of those who say they're either extremely or very proud of being an American reached the lowest point since Gallup first conducted the survey in 2001. For a second straight year, less than half of Americans consider themselves "extremely proud," down from a peak of 70% in 2004 and driven by low patriotism among Democrats and political independents.The gap by political affiliation is at the widest point ever. National pride among Democrats has plunged since President Donald Trump took office, with just 22% now indicating extreme pride, the lowest on record and half what it was months before the last election. Some 76% of Republicans indicate they are extremely proud of being an American.By comparison, "when Barack Obama was in office, Republicans' extreme pride never fell below 68%," according to the report.Several subgroups -- women, liberals and younger adults -- all express lower levels of extreme U.S. pride. The opposite is more readily found among men, conservatives and older Americans.One thing that the majority of Americans do agree on, regardless of political affiliation -- both the American political and the health and welfare system fail to instill pride. Only about a third of respondents say the political system makes them proud to be an American, compared with more than two-thirds who say it doesn't.To contact the reporter on this story: Alex Tanzi in Washington at atanzi@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Scott Lanman at slanman@bloomberg.net, Vince Golle, Wei LuFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| 'Rushing for the exits': Rival Afghans meet in Doha Posted: 04 Jul 2019 08:14 PM PDT  Rival Afghans will meet Sunday in Doha for a fresh round of talks mediated by Qatar and Germany, as the US eyes peace with the Taliban within three months. The first such encounter in Moscow was heralded as a breakthrough but many sensitive issues including women's rights, foreign military withdrawal, Al-Qaeda and power sharing with the Taliban remain unresolved. Two experts spoke to AFP about their expectations for the talks which follow a week of direct negotiations between the US and the Taliban also in Doha.
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| Kate Beckinsale fires back at Instagram troll who claimed she dresses 'like a teenager' Posted: 05 Jul 2019 04:04 PM PDT  Attention trolls. Kate Beckinsale is reading your Instagram comments and she is willing to fire sarcastic retorts.
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| Jury to consider death penalty in Chinese scholar killing Posted: 05 Jul 2019 07:23 AM PDT  A federal jury that convicted a former University of Illinois doctoral student of kidnapping, torturing and killing a young scholar from China now must decide if Brendt Christensen should be put to death. While the state of Illinois, where she was killed, does not have the death penalty, the case was brought under federal law, which does allow capital punishment. The jury returned a guilty verdict on June 24 after deliberating for less than 90 minutes, in part, because the 30-year-old Christensen's own lawyers told jurors from the outset that he did kill 26-year-old Yingying Zhang, saying their sole objective was to persuade jurors to spare his life.
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| Human remains belong to mother and child missing since June 2018, police say Posted: 05 Jul 2019 10:05 AM PDT  Police identified the human remains found in the backyard of a Lansing, Michigan, home as those of mother and son missing since June 2018.
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| The Lexus LC Convertible Gets Its Goodwood Moment Posted: 05 Jul 2019 03:41 AM PDT  Previously shown as a concept, the topless version of the striking LC coupe is now on its way to production.
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| US pride hits record low, poll shows Posted: 04 Jul 2019 10:00 AM PDT  As the US celebrates Independence Day, a new poll suggests less Americans feel pride in their country than at any other time since 2001. While 70 per cent of US adults claim to be proud to be Americans, only 45 per cent identified as "extremely proud" in the survey, marking the second consecutive year that this falls below the majority level. The highest reported levels of pride in the US government and being an American came in 2002 and 2004, after the 9/11 attacks. During those years, 70 per cent of people identified as "extremely proud" to be American. While Democrats have historically reported lower levels of extreme patriotism among their ranks, the polling, carried out by Gallup, found this year their "extreme pride" has hit an all-time low. At this point, only 22 per cent of Democrats identify as "extremely proud". Before Donald Trump was elected, it was nearly twice that. Democrat-voting women, liberals, and younger people all experience lower levels of pride than the rest of the US population.Independents echo similar sentiments, with a record low of 41 per cent reporting extreme pride. Republicans, on the other hand, have reported that 76 per cent of them remain in the "extremely proud" group, a ten per cent decrease from the highest recording in 2003.In a new question introduced this year, Gallup found that Americans largest sources of pride were in science (91 per cent), arts (85 per cent), and the US military (89 per cent). On the contrary, US citizens were least proud of the political system (32 per cent) and the health and welfare system (37 per cent).Gallup attributed the new record low in part to a divisive political climate, noting similar figures have been also been reported once before during the time Mr Trump has been in office.
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| Iran could consider talks with U.S. only if sanctions lifted, Khamenei permits: minister Posted: 04 Jul 2019 01:25 AM PDT  Iran's intelligence minister has said Tehran and Washington could hold talks only if the United States ended its sanctions and Iran's top authority, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, gave his approval, state news agency IRNA reported on Thursday. "Holding talks with America can be reviewed by Iran only If (U.S. President Donald) Trump lifts the sanctions and our supreme leader gives permission to hold such talks," Mahmoud Alavi said late on Wednesday.
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| REFILE-U.S. dream pulls African migrants in record numbers across Latin America Posted: 05 Jul 2019 05:00 AM PDT ![REFILE-U.S. dream pulls African migrants in record numbers across Latin America]( "REFILE-U.S. dream pulls African migrants in record numbers across Latin America") Marilyne Tatang, 23, crossed nine borders in two months to reach Mexico from the West African nation of Cameroon, fleeing political violence after police torched her house, she said. Tatang, who is eight months pregnant, took a raft across a river into Mexico on June 8, a day after Mexico struck a deal with U.S. President Donald Trump to do more to control the biggest flows of migrants heading north to the U.S. border in more than a decade.
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| #ArrestAntiPakjournalists tops Twitter trends in Pakistan Posted: 04 Jul 2019 07:56 AM PDT  A hashtag calling for the arrest of journalists briefly became the top Twitter trend in Pakistan Thursday, deepening concern over a shrinking space for dissent in the country. Many users accompanied it with a composite photograph of prominent journalists and TV anchors, some of whom regularly criticise the governing Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party of Prime Minister Imran Khan and the powerful military establishment. Last year, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) said in a report that the military has "quietly, but effectively, set restrictions on reporting", although it denies doing so.
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| California outlaws hair discrimination with new bill Posted: 04 Jul 2019 12:42 AM PDT  California has become the first US state to make race-related hair discrimination illegal. Governor Gavin Newsom signed the 'CROWN Act' into law on Wednesday, prohibiting employers and schools from enforcing hair-grooming policies that restrict natural hairstyles such as Afros and protective styles. "The CROWN Act is redefining the cultural norms of 'professional images' for all people," said Senator Holly J. Mitchell, who first introduced the bill, ushering it through the California Senate in April and the California Assembly in June.
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| Mexican officials blame federal police strike on opposition Posted: 04 Jul 2019 06:36 PM PDT  Government officials blamed the political opposition, corrupt federal police and outside players Thursday for a revolt by officers who are opposed to being absorbed into Mexico's new National Guard. Federal police maintained control of a command center in the Mexico City borough of Iztapalapa for a second day and snarled traffic by blocking highways outside the capital. Meanwhile, in the southern border state of Chiapas, officers hung signs expressing support for their colleagues.
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| 14 of the World's Most Historic Villages You Can Still Live In Posted: 04 Jul 2019 05:00 AM PDT |
| 'Real Housewives' star Meghan King Edmonds reveals son has 'irreversible brain damage' Posted: 05 Jul 2019 11:19 AM PDT  "Real Housewives" star and mother of three Meghan King Edmonds started off by writing that she always knew something was wrong with 1-year-old son Hart.
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| Google found a crazy iMessage bug that bricks iPhones, but you’re probably safe Posted: 05 Jul 2019 12:00 PM PDT  Type a particular string of characters into an iMessage and send it to someone else, and strange things could happen. We've seen these accidental discoveries time and time again in the past when users found character combinations that would render an iPhone useless. Apple is typically quick to patch these bugs and has done it again, this time with an issue that Google researchers discovered. Received in iMessage, a specific set of characters can do the unthinkable to your iPhone, and that is to brick it, locking you out of everything on it. The only fix is a factory reset and there's no way to recover lost data that wasn't backed up.Project Zero researcher Natalie Silvanovich discovered the bug in mid-April, explaining that it only affects iOS devices:> On a Mac, this causes soagent to crash and respawn, but on an iPhone, this code is in Springboard. Receiving this message will case Springboard to crash and respawn repeatedly, causing the UI not to be displayed and the phone to stop responding to input. This condition survives a hard reset, and causes the phone to be unusable as soon as it is unlocked. The only way I could find to fix the phone is to reboot into recovery mode and do a restore. This causes the data on the device to be lost though.You can't do anything once you've received the text on iPhone running iOS versions earlier than iOS 12.3. Similar bugs in the past could significantly slow down a phone or crash the Messages app, but you could fix the problem in most cases without losing any data.This time around, you'd have to go for a complete factory reset, which means that any data that hasn't been backed up to iCloud or a computer will be lost. And when you do set up the phone for the first time, you'll need to remove the SIM card and kill Wi-Fi to deal prevent the issue from recurring:> 1) wipe the device with 'Find my iPhone' > 2) put the device in recovery mode and update via iTunes (note that this will force an update to the latest version) > 3) remove the SIM card, go out of Wi-Fi range and wipe the device in the menuThe good news is that Apple patched this issue in iOS 12.3, which means that you're safe as long as you've updated to the latest stable iOS release, or if you're on an iOS 13 beta.
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| 1938 Chevrolet Rat Bomb Rat Rod Is Near Perfect Posted: 05 Jul 2019 07:48 AM PDT  You could take this project the rest of the way to awesomeness. There's something undeniably awesome about a well-executed rat rod, especially when it started out as a pickup truck. This 1938 Chevrolet Rat Bomb is a highly stylized example you just might want to consider adding to your garage. It took 12 months to build this rat rod from the very beginning of the project to its completion. As you can see, much about the '38 Chevrolet Truck has been transformed, turning it into a real-life Hot Wheels of sorts.As part of the dramatic transformation, all the paint was stripped off the cab exterior, with the exception of the original paint, or what's left of it, remaining on the firewall. As a result, this build looks shiny and quite unique. Some serious chopping shortened bot the cab and bed significantly, which sit at an aggressive rake because of the huge American Racing Torque Thrust rear wheels wrapped with Pie Cut White Wall Cheater Slicks, meanwhile much smaller wheels on the front have Firestone Dirts on them. A total of 12 different vehicles donated parts to this build for a completely unique look.The original bottom portion of the cab was also chopped off and 16 gauge sheet metal was used as a replacement. Factory seats with what appears to be the original upholstery, which is fairly beat up, are on the interior, along with a custom wood center console for a little bit more of a rustic quality. Fresh red paint on the door panels, dash, and other exposed pieces of metal add a more finished look.You can see the Motown V8 engine displayed quite prominently and completely uncovered up front. 383 Stroke Dart cylinder heads, a Weiand 6-71 Street Supercharger, Dynatech headers, plus dual Holley 600s are all right where you can see them in glorious fashion. Peak output is claimed to be 550 to 600-horsepower. This rat rod also has a Superbell front dropped axle and four-wheel disc brakes.Not only is this an interesting vehicle, it's won awards and is famous at the Hot Wheels 2008 First Editions Rat Bomb. Other than a few touch-ups here and there, this vehicle is in great condition. Someone could either keep it as-is or smooth out the rest of the build. This unique rat rod is being offered for sale through Auto Source Group LLC. More Cars Gothic 1966 Dodge D100 Rat Rod Heads To Auction This 1948 Chevrolet 3100 Is Rat Rod Heaven Lamborghini Approves The Only Rat Rod Wearing Badge Worldwide This Modified 2011 GMC Sierra Is One Serious SEMA Show Truck
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| Teen who tried to rob fireworks stand gets shot in face with own gun, deputies say Posted: 04 Jul 2019 07:51 PM PDT  Deputies say the suspect placed the gun down to pick up cash. That's when deputies say an employee picked up the gun and shot him in the face.
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| China says existing U.S. tariffs must be removed for a trade deal Posted: 04 Jul 2019 12:21 AM PDT ![China says existing U.S. tariffs must be removed for a trade deal]( "China says existing U.S. tariffs must be removed for a trade deal") Existing U.S. tariffs will have to be removed if there is to be a trade deal between Beijing and Washington, China's commerce ministry said on Thursday. The leaders of the two countries agreed last weekend to relaunch trade talks that had stalled in May after U.S. officials accused China of pulling back from commitments made in the text of a pact negotiators had said was nearly finished. Trade teams from both countries are in contact, commerce ministry spokesman Gao Feng told a regular media briefing.
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| Iran Will Only Negotiate With U.S. If Supreme Leader Gives Nod Posted: 04 Jul 2019 06:42 AM PDT ![Iran Will Only Negotiate With U.S. If Supreme Leader Gives Nod]( "Iran Will Only Negotiate With U.S. If Supreme Leader Gives Nod") (Bloomberg) -- Iran will only negotiate with the U.S. if the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei agrees to it, a minister said."Negotiation between Iran and America will take place if the supreme leader gives the permission," Intelligence Minister Mahmoud Alavi was cited as saying by state-run IRNA news agency on Thursday. "The U.S. president thought that sanctions would bring Iran to its knees but the Islamic Republic will not succumb to negotiations under the pressure of global arrogance."Major state-run news agencies, including IRNA, later simultaneously ran a statement from the intelligence ministry denying that there was any mention of negotiations by the minister.Iran's leaders, including Khamenei, have repeatedly refused to negotiate with the U.S. while under crippling sanctions.(Updates with denial in 3rd paragraph.)To contact the reporter on this story: Arsalan Shahla in Dubai at ashahla@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Shaji Mathew at shajimathew@bloomberg.net, Lin NoueihedFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Australian student released in North Korea says 'I'm OK' Posted: 04 Jul 2019 05:45 PM PDT  An Australian student released after a week in detention in North Korea arrived in Tokyo on Thursday after telling reporters he was in "very good" condition, without saying what happened to him. Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced to Parliament that Alek Sigley, 29, had been released by North Korea following intervention from Swedish diplomats and described him as safe and well. After Sigley's arrival in Beijing, he later went to Tokyo to reunite with his wife, who is Japanese.
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| 2019 Chevrolet Camaro SS 1LE vs. 2019 Ford Mustang GT Performance Pack Level 2 Posted: 04 Jul 2019 05:00 AM PDT  Bro, do you even handle? We take these two V-8-powered rear-drive two-doors to rural Pennsylvania to find out.
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